ChatGPT Tasks That Start Themselves: Event Triggers From Gmail, Slack and GitHub

When a key client emails, someone posts in #support, or a pull request opens, ChatGPT wakes up, does the first pass, and leaves you a ready-to-check draft.

Checked October 19, 2026. Researched and drafted with help from Grok Bot.

Quick answer

• Event-triggered tasks are scheduled tasks that start when something happens in a connected app, instead of at a set time. They run in Work.
• Three apps today: Gmail (a new message, filterable by sender or subject), Slack (new channel messages) and GitHub (pull request activity in a repo you authorize).
• Plans: Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, Edu and ChatGPT for Healthcare. Not Free or Go.
• How: connect the app in Settings → Apps, describe the event and the job in Work, then review the Trigger, Condition and Prompt. Manage it under Scheduled.
• Safety is built in: an action that sends a message or changes data may need your approval, and the task pauses until you review it.

The three triggers at a glance

Is it worth setting up? The verdict

Quick questions

What's the difference from a normal scheduled task? A normal task runs at a time ("every Monday at 8"). An event-triggered task runs when something happens ("when Dana emails").

How often can it run? Up to 30 times an hour and 720 times a day, across all your event-triggered tasks. Several events may be grouped into one run.

Will it send emails or Slack messages as me? Only within the permissions you grant. OpenAI says actions that send a message or change data may require approval, and the task pauses until you review it.

Can I build it in the desktop app? The desktop app can show existing event-triggered tasks, but you create or edit the trigger on the web or in a supported mobile app.

Can I share my setup with a coworker? Yes. Share it from Scheduled. They get your instructions and schedule, not your chats, memories, files or app logins. They need Work and their own app connections.

Before you start

• Plan: Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu (or a ChatGPT for Healthcare workspace).
• Work access: you can select Work in ChatGPT (see the prereq guide).
• Admins (Enterprise, Edu, Healthcare): your admin must turn on Allow event-triggered scheduled tasks.
• Use the web or phone to create the task.
• Healthcare users: these tasks aren't covered under a BAA. Don't use them for protected health information.

Step 1: Connect the app

1. Go to Settings → Apps.
2. Connect Gmail, Slack or GitHub, and finish the sign-in.
3. Slack only: in Slack, add @ChatGPT to every channel the task will watch.
4. GitHub only: authorize only the repositories you need.

Step 2: Describe the event and the job in Work

1. Open ChatGPT and select Work.
2. Describe when it should run and what it should do (recipes below).
3. Don't create it inside a project. OpenAI says a task created in a project can't access that project's uploaded files.

Step 3: Review Trigger, Condition and Prompt

ChatGPT turns your request into three parts. Check each:

• Trigger: the app, the account and the event. Is it the right Gmail account or Slack channel?
• Condition: the filter. Is it narrow enough? ("From @acme.com" beats "any email.")
• Prompt: the instructions. Does it say "draft" rather than "send"?

Complete any authorization it asks for.

Step 4: Manage it under Scheduled

Go to Scheduled to review, edit, pause or delete the task. For alerts, go to Settings → Notifications and pick Push, Email or both.

Recipe 1: VIP client emails (Gmail)

When I get a new Gmail message from anyone at @acmecorp.com, do this:
1. Summarize the email in 3 bullets: what they want, by when, and any numbers.
2. Rate urgency: High (needs a reply today), Medium, or Low.
3. Draft a polite reply in my voice that confirms what they asked and gives a realistic next step. Do not promise dates or prices.
4. Do not send anything. Leave the draft for me to review.

What good looks like: within minutes of the email, a summary and draft appear in the task's results. You check the facts and send it yourself.

Recipe 2: #support triage (Slack)

First add @ChatGPT to #support.

When a new message is posted in #support, do this:
1. Summarize the problem in one sentence.
2. Tag it: Bug, Billing, How-to, or Other.
3. Suggest a reply under 60 words, in a friendly tone.
4. If it mentions "refund," "cancel" or "angry," mark it URGENT at the top.
Don't post anything in Slack. Just give me the summary and suggested reply.

Recipe 3: Pull request explainer (GitHub)

When a pull request is opened in [owner/repo], do this:
1. Explain in plain English what the change does and why, in 5 bullets max.
2. List the files changed, grouped by area.
3. Write a review checklist: tests, risky areas, anything that touches payments or user data.
4. Don't comment on GitHub. Give the summary to me.

The one-week trust ladder

Our advice: anything that sends a message to a person stays "draft, then you send."

Share a task (safely)

1. Scheduled → the task's ••• menu → Share → review → Copy link.
2. The link holds a snapshot of the title, instructions, schedule and time zone. It doesn't include your name, chats, results, memories, files or app logins.
3. Anyone who opens a personal-account link can read the full instructions. Don't put health info, money details, passwords or account numbers in the title or instructions.
4. To stop sharing: ••• → Share → trash icon → Delete share. Copies others already made keep working.

Common mistakes and fixes

Prompt pack

Show me the Trigger, Condition and Prompt for this task in plain English before you save it.

Change the condition so it only runs for emails whose subject includes "invoice" or "quote."

Add a final step: if you're not sure about something, say "CHECK" at the top instead of guessing.

Pause all my event-triggered tasks except the client-email one.

Same job in other chatbots and agents

Next level

• Projects + Work on Your Desktop (coming soon): let Work use local folders with permission.
• AI Automations compares scheduled jobs across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Grok.